Symbols: jackal, ox-hide hanging from a pole, embalming equipment, flail, flags

Anubis was the son of Nephthys, and his father was Osiris. In one version Nephthys got Osiris drunk and the resultant seduction brought forth Anubis. Yet another says she impersonated her twin sister Isis and seduced Osiris and subsequently gave birth to Anubis. Anubis was abandoned in the desert until Isis heard his calls, rescued, and adopted him.

The god with a black jackal head presides over the passage to the underworld. He is the inventor of embalming and preserves bodies that they might live again. His symbol was a black and white ox-hide splattered with blood and hanging from a pole.

Anubis carries the royal sceptre and is frequently depicted as a dog accompanying Isis, who is equated to the star Sirius. Some ancient observations of Sirius describe it as a red star. To the Romans red meant an angry god, and they sacrificed red dogs to this star. Ancient Egyptians called Sirius the 'Dog Star', after their god Osiris, whose head in pictograms resembled that of a dog.

In Egypt, Sirius shines for most of the summer, and its additional light gave the belief that it caused the summer heat for the dog days of summer.

Sirius was worshipped as Sothis in the valley of the Nile. The heliacal rising of this star came at the time of flooding and the start of the Egyptian New Year. Anubis had three important functions:

• supervised the embalming of bodies
• performed the Opening of the Mouth ceremony
• conducted the soul in the Field of Celestial Offerings.

Additionally, Anubis supervised the weighing of the heart on the Scales of Truth to determine the fate of the newly deceased.